Day by Day
by MindlessChatterbox
Summary: Taylor is a confused Demigod, who knows nothing of what she wants in life, other than to figure it all out. When she meets Nico and his older sister, Kyuu, her whole world turns upside down.
1. Chapter 1

"Are you sure...?" Liam and I stood at the bottom of what he claimed to be the entrance to camp half-blood. Liam had spent the last three days explaining demigods and camp half-blood to me, while wandering around Long Island.

"Positive," he said, kicking off his fake feet and galloping up the hill. Liam is my satyr.

I shouldered my backpack and followed him up the hill. At the top of the hill was a tall pine tree with a coppery dragon curled around the trunk. I dropped my bag and knelt in front of him. He puffed smoke happily as I scratched the end of his nose. "Who's a cute widdle dwagon," I cooed, making him gurgle happily. A light rain had recently fallen and the mud clung to my knees as I climbed up and ran over to Liam.

He was talking to a white centaur wearing an orange Camp Half-Blood shirt. I put my thumb behind my top front teeth, a habit I've had for five years, and waved cautiously at him. I don't really talk much. The centaur bent over to be eye level with me. "You must be Taylor," He smiled gently, "How old are you?"

"She's ten sir," Liam answered for me, "She doesn't really like to talk."

"I'm Chiron," the centaur said, "I think, you have to be Percy's younger sister. Is your mom Sally Jackson?"

I nodded.

"Come on, I'll show you your cabin."

It was probably one in the morning and I was dead on my feet. As we passed an open pavillion filled with tables made of various materials, I noticed a dark haired boy and girl-probably brother and sister-standing on the steps. "JUST TAKE IT," The girl yelled, thrusting something small and silver toward the boy. The boy, probably twelve, shook his head and mumbled something inaudible and shoved her hand back against her stomach. The girl screamed and started to slap the boy. He caught her hand, dropped it back by her side and ran off into the forest.

I turned away and jogged to catch up with Chiron. He had stopped in front of a dark stone cabin. A wave pattern was carved on the pillars on the patio and a trident glowed softly on the arched door. Chiron knocked gently on the door and shoved it open with his shoulder. He had to duck inside the cabin. Percy looked up sleepily from his bunk. "PERCY," I cried running across the room and latching onto my big brother.

"Hey Kiddo," he mumbled sleepily.

Chiron smiled, "Taylor, you sleep in as long as you want. When you get up you can shower and come meet me in the Big House, okay?"

"'kay," I said, crawling up onto the lower bunk on the second set of bunk beds. I buried my nose in the fur of my stuffed cow, Justin Beiber.

The next morning, A CHB t-shirt was draped over the end of my bed. I tied my too-long hair back and wiggled into the shirt. It was two sizes too big. I'm small for a ten-year-old. Outside my cabin were more than a dozen more. A black one at the end of my line resonated with Metallica-ish music. As I wandered closer I realized it was in another language. The cabin was black marble with a skull mounted over the door and a torch burning with green fire on either side of the door. "Greek fire," Percy explained from behind me, "Hades cabin, stay away for a while." As he finished the dark haired girl from last night burst out, holding a comb and visciously shaking a can of hairspray. "Work, GAR!" she screamed at the bottle. Except she said words I dare not say.

Percy bit his lip and took my hand and led me away from the cabin. "Let's go see Chiron," he mumbled, "That was Kyuu, middle child of Hades. You probably won't see much of her older sister and Nico doesn't come out much." He stopped in front of the Big House, a big, pretty house with a huge porch. Chiron was outside, playing cards with a hairy old man. "Ah, good morning Taylor," Chiron said happily, "This is Mr. D, more commonly known as Dionysus."

I smiled at him and put my thumb behind my teeth.

"Taylor, I expect Liam explained the whole demigod concept to you?" Chiron asked.

"Yeah," I mumbled.

"So you know that Posiedon is your father?"

"Yep."

"Alright then, we can find someone to-"

"CHIIIIIRON!" Kyuu's scream split the air and Chiron's sentence.

"Oh, dear."

I dove behind Percy as Kyuu marched up with her brown hair hanging in limp tangles, "DO I HAVE PERMISSION TO BURN THE ARES CABIN?"

"No, Kyuu, you do not," Chiron sighed.

"Can I at least rip the door off?"

"No."

"Break the windows?"

"No."

"Curse at them?"

"Negatory."

"Fine. I'll just go...hey, who's this?" Kyuu jumped as I peeked around Percy. She smiled innocently, "Hey there, sweetie, what's your name?"

"Taylor..." I whispered slowly.

"Good to know. Now, Chiron, fun fact, Nico is not in the cabin and I can't find him anywhere."

"Did you look anywhere," Mr. D snorted.

"...no...Am I 'sposed to?"

"Yes-Oh, never mind, I'll go look for him!" Chiron grunted.

I ducked out from behind my brother and went over and tugged on Kyuu's sleeve. "What?" she spat angrily, then she saw me, "Oh, do you know anything about Nico?"

I nodded and took off running towards the forest at the edge of the camp. I looked back over my shoulder to make sure Kyuu was following me. I didn't see her but a small shadow seemed to follow mine. I found Nico sitting in a clearing, his head hung. "Found 'im," Kyuu sighed, stepping out of the shadows. I started back to my cabin when Nico looked up, "Wait. Who are you?" he asked quietly.

"She's Taylor," Kyuu answered obnoxiously.

"I didn't ask you," he scowled. Kyuu stuck her toungue out at him.

"She's a bit of a mute." Nico smiled gently at me and turned back to Kyuu, "And you're a bit of an brat."

Kyuu's brown eyes flickered with an angry light. The shadows around Kyuu curled up her legs ominously. She flicked her wrist and and a blast of the shadows hit Nico square in the chest. It knocked him back against a tree. His head cracked hard on the trunk and he sunk to the ground, his hands pressed to his temples. Kyuu cackled and marched away, a smug look smeared across her face. I watched her walk away and ran over to Nico. The back of his head was bleeding, caking his black hair. I pulled him up and slung his arm across my shoulders. "Iz fine r..really," he slurred as I dragged him off to the Big House.

"CHIRON!" I called as I approached the Big House. He came trotting out with a look of relief on his face, until he saw Nico's head. I helped load him onto Chiron's back and get him into the infirmary. Chiron started to clean Nico's head as I held his hand while he drifted in and out of consiousness. Nico went from giggling to sleeping and back again while Chiron bandaged his head. "It's not like her to go this far," Chiron muttered more to himself then to me but I nodded understandingly. "You can go now, Taylor, thank you." I pried Nico's fingers off my wrist and went back by the Hades cabin to see Kyuu.

No one was in the cabin. I plopped down on Kyuu's bed and looked for any sign of her. She was gone.


	2. Chapter 2

Years passed with Kyuu gone. Uneventful years. I grew closer to camp and Nico. The day before I turned fourteen I was sitting on the dock of the canoe lake, holding Nico's hand when a chick with shoulder-length dark brown hair and brown eyes walked by. She had black horns and was slim. She ignored us and walked into the Hades cabin. Nico looked shocked, "Is she allowed to do that?" I asked.

"Not if she's not a Hades kid," he answered. I let his hand go and got up. The girl had disappeared into the cabin by now. I ran towards it. I burst in, followed by Nico, "Hey, you're not-Kyuu?" Nico's shocked look spread into a grin as he ran over to hug his sister. I hung back and leaned against the door frame. Kyuu had changed greatly. Her hair was straightened and her horns which had apparently always been concealed by her hat now poked up through her dark brown hair. Her old heavy makeup was replaced with a natural look and her tacky clothes had vanished. Poof!

Kyuu looked between me and Nico and smiled knowingly. "So..." She started, "You two. You're like...dating?" Nico blushed violently and I ducked my head. It was still a new idea for us. Kyuu turned back to her bag and continued to unpack. I inched out of the cabin, hoping Kyuu wouldn't notice. Either she didn't or she didn't care. I booked it to my cabin and buried my face in Justin Bieber. Percy looked over at me curiously. He was reading (with great effort) _Getting to Know Your Centaur. _He must've had an argument with Chiron. "Kyuu's back," I mumbled into my cow. Percy arched his eyebrows and turned back to his book. Nico's face appeared in the window.

Red claw marks flared down Nico's cheek. I ran over to him with my classic thumb-behind-teeth thing going, apparently it's adorable. He gingerly traced each trench I pulled a first-aid kit off my wall and pulled out the antibacterial spray. "What's that," Nico asked

"The...um...the spray stuffs," I answered slowly.

"What kind of spray stuff?"

"The...uh...The boo-boo spray."

I shook the can and sprayed it on Nico. He screamed in pain and clutched his cheek, "That stings!" he protested. I rolled my eyes and taped some gauze to his face. He looked kind of silly with a big white patch on his cheek but he looked relieved. "Who did that," Percy said, pointing at Nico. Percy and Nico have a reputation for not exactly getting along, considering Nico kinda sorta tried to kill him and stuff.

"I don't know," Nico said sheepishly, "I kinda blacked out..."

Dinner that night was awkward since half the tables were being refinished, all the cabins had to squish. The Poseidon and the Hades cabins were each only made up of two campers so we were together and I was the lucky winner of the get-squished-between-Nico-and-Percy contest. I picked at my fish and looked over at Kyuu who was downing one salt 'n' vinegar chip after another. She was practically inhaling them. I finally slammed my hands down in frustration after watching Percy and Nico stuff their faces. "I'm leaving," I announced.

Without a glance back I jumped off the dock and dove into the canoe lake. My clothes stayed dry as I shut my eyes and thought hard about the ship wreck, just off the beach near CHB. I found myself there and I smiled. Sweet bliss. The ocean was the one place I could think clearly. Nico and I had been dating for exactly two years today, tomorrow was my birthday. I finally took a deep breath of ocean water and let my self get wet. The water hit my stomach and knocked the breath out of me with an _oomph_ the cool saltwater felt good on my skin and I gathered enough courage to surface. Nico was standing on the beach, holding a towel. He smiled gently down at me. I pulled my self out of the water and took the towel from Nico. After drying my hair for a second, Nico pushed the towel down around my shoulders and pushed some hair out of my face. He cupped his hands under my chin and tipped my face up. My heart felt like it was going to burst out of my chest and hop across the sand.

Nico's eyes took on a light I'd never seen before. They were gentle, yet determined. He finally did it. For the first time in two years, the big jerk kissed me. I threaded my fingers through his thick hair and wrapped one arm around his neck. I had to stand on my tiptoes to reach Nico.

When Nico drew back, I dropped and put my head against his chest. He curled his arms around me in a bear hug, enveloping me. I smiled.

Breathing. Someone was breathing on me. I flicked open my eyes to find Nico and Percy leaning over me with big goofy grins all over their faces. "HAPPY BIRTHDAY," they cried as I sat up sleepily. Nico was holding an oversized stuffed cow and he thrust it at my face so its nose was right in mine. I pushed it off me and smiled. Percy looked like he was about to explode into song...or just explode. I threw my arms around Nico's neck and climbed out of bed. "Now, thank you, and get out," I shooed them out so I could get dressed.

I don't really dress up. Ever. So even my birthday gets honored with a t-shirt and shorts. I brushed my hair and fiddled with it. It's super long and I can never decide whether to put it up or leave it down. I went outside and found a whole party set up around the canoe lake. Loud music was blaring from somewhere. Somewhere. The stage...JUSTIN BEIBER WAS ON A STAGE AT MY BIRTHDAY PARTY! Eep. Just kidding, it was Switchfoot, holding my cow. Justin Beiber.

I grinned and booked it to Nico. I jumped up and hung around his neck. He smiled back for a second then modestly said, "I didn't do it. I just had the idea. Kyuu did _that_." He pointed to the lead singer who was happily lost in _Stars_. Kyuu was standing in front of the stage, doing some line dance with the Apollo kids. I ran up to her and jumped up, piggy-back style on her back and practically choked her with one of my infamous hugs.

Kyuu was staggering around yelping, "Get. Off. Get. Off."

"How'd you do it, huh?" I asked.

"I know people," she choked out.

My feet hit the grass as I dropped off Kyuu's back. She bent over, put her hands on her knees and wheezed a few times. I wandered back over to the party and found a table with TAYLOR written really big on the table cloth in an child of Aphrodite's handwriting. I plopped down and watched Nico stand near the line of dancing Apollo kids...and Kyuu, looking lost. I whistled at him and he turned to look at me. I flashed him my best 'adorable girlfriend' smile and waved. "TIME FOR NOMS!" Kyuu yelled all of a sudden and raced to get one of the seats next to me.

Nico was standing in a crowd of giggling Apollo girls, "Do it, man," they whispered. I raised my eyebrows in his direction and the girls ran off to do something Apollo-ish. The opening of _Break Your Heart _by Taio Cruz replaced the Switchfoot songs and Nico trudged up onto the stage. Kyuu was giggling incessantly. Nico timidly took the mic and cleared his throat. As the song reeled into the chorus, he started to sing along. Nico can rap, beatbox, scat, he can even do the Soulja boy, but singing is not his strong point. Not to say he sucks...but...he's okay. Kyuu continued to laugh hysterically. I stared at Nico in awe. My shy little Nico, on stage singing, "I'm only gonna break break your break break your heart." I had to supress a giggle.

When the song finished, he replaced the microphone and ran off stage. Everyone clapped. I was the loudest. Kyuu was **still** doubled over with laughter. I socked her in the arm and she stopped and whimpered.

Chiron quickly declared it present time by plopping a new knife with a pink bow tied around it on the table in front of me. "Umm, thanks," I half asked. Chiron smiled in satisfaction and went back to his duties as a centaur. I got a few gifts from each cabin. But the best gift had been last night, from Nico. Kyuu's was a turquoise tee with elaborate sharpie doodles all over it. On the back in a big heart it said: Taylor + Nico 4Ever. I smiled at her and she shrugged. At the very end, I pulled Chiron's knife from the scabbard and examined it. It had an elaborate design of waves and bubbles and _Gentle Waters_ engraved in the blade. I smiled and put it away. Other than the cow, Nico gave me a necklace. It was gorgeous. It had a trident on it and a little skull wearing a helm of darkness off to one side. I turned it over and saw that "Love is Patient" was written in curly script.

Tears came to my eyes and I wrapped my arms around Nico. "Thank you," I whispered in his ear.

"KISS HIM," Kyuu started to chant, getting the rest of the camp to join in. I shrugged and planted one on his cheek. BEST BIRTHDAY EVER! For now anyway...

Update won't be coming for a while, going on a trip bby! Sorry, but please enjoy!


End file.
